A Plus Sign
by tfry1440
Summary: A plus sign. Michonne has never been more excited, and terrified, at seeing a plus sign in her life. She was pregnant. A one-shot describing Michonne finding out she's pregnant, and how Carl reacts.


A plus sign.

Michonne has never been more excited, and terrified, at seeing a plus sign in her life. She was pregnant.

As the thought sunk in, she couldn't stop the smile growing on her face, nor the happy tears from forming in her eyes. In a trance, she swept from the bathroom to begin her day, a light bounce to her step. She got Judith from her crib, and brought her downstairs to keep her company while she made breakfast. Distantly she wondered where her Rick was, but then she remembered he had volunteered for the early morning shift for watch, wanting to keep the afternoon open to spend time with their family. Their _growing_ family. She smiled again as she placed Judy in her high chair and gave her a few toys to keep her occupied.

Opening the cabinets, Michonne hummed a happy tune as she grabbed the necessary ingredients and went about making some pancakes.

And that was the scene Carl came downstairs to. A humming Michonne seemingly in her own world, the scent of blueberry pancakes hitting his nostrils.

"Um, mom?"

Michonne turned around and beamed at her son. "Good morning, Carl? It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Okay, what's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, Carl squinted his eye in suspicion and tilted his head in question. So much like his father. As she thought of her boyfriend a wide smile split across her face and she couldn't stop the tears from forming again.

Now beyond worried, Carl rushed to the bathroom, returning seconds later with a few tissues that he promptly offered to his mom before taking the spatula from her and shooing her away. She accepted them gratefully and went to sit down at the counter, dabbing her eyes on the way. And that's how they stayed for a few minutes. Michonne sniffling and occasionally wiping her eyes, as Carl kept glancing at her confusedly as he made pancake after pancake.

When he finally finished, he shut everything off and brought the platter over to the counter, as Michonne set out plates, napkins, utensils, and the extremely rare treat: syrup. They sat and ate in silence for a while before suddenly Carl couldn't take it anymore. He slammed his fork down on the counter.

"OKAY MOM WHAT THE HELL?!"

Judith jumped at the loud noise, and proceeded to cry in protest. Michonne tried to calm her down, at the same time turning and giving her son a look filled with a mixture of shock, disappointment, and warning. Carl immediately held his hands up in surrender and apologized before she could get a word out.

"Look okay I'm sorry for yelling."

"And?"

"And swearing."

"And?"

Carl sighed exasperatedly. "And for slamming down my fork on the table, frightening you and Judy. I'm truly sorry and it will never happen again."

Michonne nodded her acceptance and gave him a small smile, signalling they were okay. He breathed a sigh of relief and restarted his questioning with a softer approach.

"Listen, mom, you're kinda freaking me out here. I mean first you were down here humming and singing and all smiles, then when I ask you about it you burst into tears. What is going on?"

Michonne deliberated for a second before answering his question. "Well, you're going to find out eventually so I might as well tell you."

She shifted so she was facing him head on, clasping his hand excitedly. "Carl… I'm pregnant!" She stared at his face in anticipation, ready to share her joy with someone. But the response she got was not one she was expecting.

Carl's face fell, and his eye widened in horror. He snatched his hand away from Michonne's and stood up abruptly. Needing something to do to take his mind off of his coming panic, he began to frantically pace the room, clenching and unclenching his fists agitatedly.

At first, Michonne was beyond confused to his reaction, but then Judith made a squeal of delight as she squished her pancake and brought the jumbled mess to her mouth happily. Then, it clicked. She took a deep breath and stood up, purposely placing herself in the way of his pacing. Without a word, she gently guided him back to the counter and sat him down. Placing her seat directly in front of him, she grabbed both of his hands, holding on tight when he tried to pull them back. She refused to speak until he finally made eye contact with her.

"Carl. It's going to be okay-"

"You don't know that! What if Negan comes back to attack us? Or if another herd comes through? Or those Garbage People? The doctor from the Hilltop was taken, how will we know if anything is wrong with-"

"Carl." She spoke his name firmly and squeezed his hands. He stared at her for a second, taking the time to regulate his breathing and slow his accelerated heart. Eventually, he was able to calm down, comforted by Michonne's steady gaze and the occasional finger stroke on the back of his hand.

Once Michonne was sure he was able to stave off his coming panic attack, then she decided to speak. "Carl, I cannot guarantee that nothing bad will happen. That comes with the territory. This world we live in, it takes and takes and even when you think you've got nothing left, it takes from you again. But, sometimes it gives, the rare type of gifts that changes everything about you, from how you live to _why_ you live." She stopped for a moment and checked on Judith, chuckling quietly upon seeing the mess she made of the blueberries. Reaching over, she snagged an extra napkin and began the tedious task of cleaning her up, while continuing her conversation with Carl.

"Jude bug, she was a gift. Still is; she represents what we're fighting for, what we live for. You do, too. You two, Maggie and… Glenn's baby, and now ours, this is the future. We've survived for so long, now it's time for us to _live_ , Carl." At this point, she had finished cleaning Judith up, so she picked her up and moved into the living room, gesturing for Carl to follow her. She placed Judy down on the floor near her toys, pausing for a moment to lovingly stroke the back of her head, before standing up and making her way to sit next to Carl on the couch.

"I don't want you to be scared, okay? This is what I want. This is right-"

At this, Carl turned away in anguish and scrunched up his face to try to stem the tears from falling. All he could think of was his birth mother, about to sacrifice herself for her baby, saying those exact words to him. The rest of the moment was about to play through his mind, until a light touch on his face brought him back to the present.

Michonne had noticed Carl's dilemma and quickly grasped his face and forced him to look at her. She needed him to hear this. "We're the ones who live, Carl. We will take out the Saviors, the Garbage People, and any other group or herd that comes to threaten us. We will safely deliver your youngest sibling into this world, and provide her with the best life we can manage given the resources available. We will make it through this like we make it through everything else. We're the ones who _live_."

Carl finally stopped fighting the tears, and he enveloped her in a tight hug, quietly sobbing into her shoulder. She hugged him back just as fiercely, a few tears escaping her eyes as well. She rubbed circles on his back and spoke soothing words into his ear. They felt some light tugging on their pants, and both looked down to see Judith, who seemingly wanted to get in on the hug as well. Michonne reached down and brought her into their embrace. They stayed that way for a few moments, providing comfort and love for each other until their sniffles died down and their eyes ran dry.

Carl was the first to let go, tucking his head down embarrassingly and wiping his eyes. "So, do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"I have absolutely no idea. But I'm hoping for a girl."

"Really? Why?"

"Because between you, your father, and Darryl I have to deal with more than enough testosterone in this house. Judith and I need another girl to even the scales."

Carl chuckled to himself before looking up and catching Michonne's eye. "I love you, mom."

She grinned happily and reached up, quickly removing his hat and kissing him on the forehead before deftly replacing it. "I love you too, Farrah Fawcett."

She tapped him twice on the knee, before getting up to put the dishes away and wrap up the leftovers. Carl shifted his sister to his hip and stood up as well, smiling down at her. She was their future. So was the new baby. They were going to make it, he'd make sure of it. He moved to put his sister back with her toys until a thought occurred to him. Michonne had called him Farrah Fawcett, he knew that name but what- When it him he scrunched his nose up in annoyance.

"Farrah Fawcett? Really?"

"Hey, you're the one who refuses to cut his hair, Fabio."

"Mom!"

"Yes, Justin Bieber?"

"Ugh!"


End file.
